Pune police book pool contractor and life guards for negligence after a boy drowns,dies

A day after the death of a 17-year-old youngster in a swimming pool run by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the Sahakarnagar police have registered a case against the swimming pool contractor and life guards, on charges of showing negligence in their duties.

According to FIR, the negligence of contractors and guards led to the death of Prafulla Wankhede in the swimming pool on Taljai Hill in the city on Sunday evening.

Police sub inspector (PSI) Rakesh Sarde who is the investigating officer in the case said, “primary investigations into the case revealed that the life guards assigned to protect the lives of the swimmers were not present and it reflects clear dereliction of duty on their part and also the contractor. The police have invoked IPC section 304 and 34 against them.”

The death took place when Wankhede went for a swim with three of his friends around 5 pm. After entering the pool waters, he started drowning in the deep section of the pool. His friends raised an alarm and he was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival .

A case of accidental death had been registered after the incident and police officers investigated the whole of Monday to find out if life guards were present at the time and if there was negligence on their part that led to the death. Finally, in the evening the police came to the conclusion that it was case of negligence and registered an FIR against the suspects.

Earlier, Arhan Shaikh (7) was found drowned at the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) swimming pool at Bopodi in June 2017. The Khadki police had booked the private contractor managing the pool and his staffers, including life guards on charges of negligence which resulted in Arhan’s death.

The police were forced to register an FIR after Arhan’s family kept his body at the entrance of the Khadki police station demanding action against the pool staff.

In 2015, the Pune city police had framed a set of rules and made it mandatory for those running pools in Pune and Pimpri- Chinchwad to obtain a licence from the police in order to ensure that safety standards are maintained at swimming pools.

In 2011, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had framed guidelines after several deaths occurred in the pools.

According to provisions of the Bombay Police Act, specified Pune Police Commissionerate Swimming Pools (Licensing and Controlling) Rules, 2015’. “Though guidelines existed in the past, we have revised them for public safety. Now, anyone who wants to run a public swimming pool, will have to obtain a licence from the police and adhere to these rules,” it stated.